Chapter 513: Buddhist-Daoist contention, fateful duel

Lanling City.

Imperial Palace, inside the Imperial Study.

With the assistance of the Emperor, Ye Ye Zean, and Yun Shu, the Crown Prince gradually mastered the technique, and the transmission of the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi became increasingly stable.

Suddenly, anger appeared on the Crown Prince's face:

"Mount Pudu Temple! Truly deserve to die!"

He had already sensed the River-Suppressing Heavenly King attacking the Heavenly Blue Iron Cavalry relying on the induction brought by the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi.

"Calm your heart and mind."

The Emperor sitting on the side spoke calmly.

"Yes, Father Emperor."

The Crown Prince lowered his head and agreed.

Li Fei sent back important intelligence, saying that there was another Martial Saint behind the First Imperial Prince.

This matter naturally attracted attention.

However, both the Emperor and Ye Ye Zean placed their suspicion on Mount Pudu Temple.

Compared to other forces, the Buddhist sect actually had more motivation to make a move at this time.

For the Buddhist sect, although the imperial court had already provided support, it was ultimately with vigilance and guard, and it was impossible to allow the Buddhist sect to develop too well.

Once a certain limit was exceeded, the "extermination of Buddhism" event from a hundred years ago could reappear!

If Mount Pudu Temple could stand out and support the First Imperial Prince to ascend the throne at this time, it could possess the greatest initiative.

In the future, making Buddhism the state religion would just be a matter of one sentence!

So analyzing from the perspective of interests, the Emperor and Ye Ye Zean focused their suspicion on Mount Pudu Temple from the beginning.

Of course, they also didn't relax the monitoring of other forces.

Ultimately, it was confirmed that Mount Pudu Temple had indeed participated!

A moment later, the Crown Prince's brows relaxed, and a look of triumph appeared on his face.

This moment was precisely when True Monarch Xuanxin made his move.

Back then, the Crown Prince was ordered to inspect the seven southwestern provinces, specifically climbing the mountain to visit the Daluo Sect and talk to True Monarch Qingxu about the reform of the National Martial Dao Exchange Conference.

At that time, True Person Xuanchen of the Shangqing Sect was following the Crown Prince (see Chapter 5, Volume 3).

At that time, he and the Shangqing Sect had already become very close, obtaining the support of some real-power figures within the sect!

Being able to persuade True Monarch Xuanxin to make a move this time could not be separated from the Crown Prince's early paving of the way.

During the reign of the current Son of Heaven, the attitude toward the Daoist sect had always been suppression.

This just happened to give the Crown Prince a lot of room.

Once he ascended the throne, he could logically bestow favors upon the Daoist sect.

This was also an important reason why the Shangqing Sect chose to support the Crown Prince back then.

Now was a critical period; if the Buddhist sect had truly rebelled, the imperial court would rely even more on the Daoist sect in the future, so True Monarch Xuanxin was finally persuaded to participate in this battle on the Baifeng Plain.

"You have a Martial Saint supporting you behind your back, and I have a True Monarch standing in my team!"

The Crown Prince's gaze was firm; he held the Imperial Jade Seal with both hands, transmitting the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi as steadily and quickly as possible.

Heaven and Earth Inverted Five Elements Great Array.

This array was not the array with the greatest killing power of the Daoist sect, but it was definitely one of the most difficult arrays.

Under normal circumstances, it required at least twelve Profound-Level magic treasures, three Earth-Level magic treasures, and one Heaven-Level magic treasure to form the array.

That was at least twelve True Persons and four top-tier True Persons joining forces to form this array.

Yet True Monarch Xuanxin, without alarming anyone, formed the array with his own strength in the flip of a palm, locking the Buddha-Eye Heavenly King inside the array!

The Buddha-Eye Heavenly King was caught off guard and hit, only protecting his body with Buddha light, the Buddha statue behind him inverted, currently enduring the suppression and tempering of the great array.

His 【Ten Thousand Lights Return to Buddha】 could convert others' power for his own use, but facing the situation in the great array where all heaven and earth origin Qi was inverted, chaotic, and even space and Dao principles were distorted, 【Ten Thousand Lights Return to Buddha】 could only protect itself for a while.

Even so, the Buddha-Eye Heavenly King remained calm, his brows filled with compassion:

"Long heard that Benefactor's array attainments are number one in the world; seeing it today, it is well-deserved."

Above the great array, an old man wearing a cyan Daoist robe, a Daoist crown on his head, with long, narrow eyes and a sharp gaze, stood in the air.

He was the Sect Master of the Shangqing Sect, one of the three True Monarchs of the Daoist sect, True Monarch Xuanxin.

After Qingxu died, the Daoist sect only had him and that one from the Yuhua Sect left.

"Array attainments number one in the world?"

Hearing the Buddha-Eye Heavenly King's praise, Xuanxin had no look of triumph, but instead gave a self-deprecating smile.

He had also always thought his array attainments were peerless in the world, until Qingxu covered the entire Ming Province with an array, combining the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi with the Daoist sect's Qi luck to establish a Daoist nation on earth, only then did he know how ridiculous his title of "number one in array attainments" was!

Back then, after Yun Shu saw Qingxu's handiwork by analyzing Dao principles, he said directly, "The title of number one in Xuanxin's array attainments should fall on you; for the Shangqing Sect to want to compete with the Daluo Sect, it is truly ridiculous." (see Chapter 58, Volume 3).

After Xuanxin learned of this conversation later, he had no reaction, because he asked himself that if it were him, even if he were given the same Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi and Daoist sect Qi luck, he wouldn't be able to establish a Daoist nation on earth.

He and Qingxu were of the same generation; when they were young, both were Daoist prodigies, and each represented the Daluo Sect and the Shangqing Sect in many secret struggles.

When both broke through to become True Monarchs and ascended to the position of Sect Master, one was number one in thunder techniques, the other number one in arrays, and they were hailed as the "Twin Stars of the Daoist Sect Shining on the World"!

Xuanxin had also always been secretly competing with Qingxu, wanting to suppress the other party.

Yet he didn't expect that in the end, Qingxu would end his life in such a way.

He had always viewed Qingxu as an opponent, but the other party had never viewed him as an opponent, because the other party had long since surpassed him!

"Qingxu..."

Xuanxin's eyes were deep, falling into memories.

He did not strike with full force, activating the great array to slay the Buddha-Eye Heavenly King.

Because his purpose for this trip was not to execute a Heavenly King of the Buddhist sect.

How could peak powerhouses be so easy to kill?

Just looking at the price the Great Lan Dynasty paid to kill the two peak powerhouses Qingxu and Qiming, one knew the difficulty.

When killing Qingxu.

When killing Qiming.

And the peak battle on the Baifeng Plain today.

In just a few short years, the Great Lan Dynasty's national fortune had plummeted, existing in three different levels!

The state of National Teacher Yun Shu was the same; after killing Qingxu, his Dao principles were already injured.

Injured and not yet healed, he killed Qiming again, and most of his life was gone!

Now he had to force himself to make a move, transporting national fortune from thousands of miles away; how much power could remain?

If the Great Lan Dynasty's national fortune had not been damaged, and Yun Shu's state was at its peak,

In this battle on the Bai Feng Plains, even if Yun Shu did not come in person and only provided national fortune support from afar, Wen Ren Zheng alone, leading the Sky Blue Iron Cavalry, could take on three enemies at once!

Where would he need Xuanxin's help?

So Xuanxin didn't intend to kill; he wasn't Yun Shu and didn't want to throw away most of his life here.

In today's battle, as long as he used the array to trap a Martial Saint, his mission was already accomplished.

The Buddha-Eye Heavenly King had sensed from the beginning that Xuanxin had no killing intent, which was why he appeared calm.

"In the end, it still evolved into a Buddhist-Daoist contention."

The Buddha-Eye Heavenly King pressed his hands together:

"But now the general trend is no longer with your Daoist sect; how much certainty does Benefactor have in taking the initiative to enter the game this time?"

Xuanxin remained silent.

More than five hundred years ago, the Great Lan Dynasty's Great Ancestor Emperor fought across the world, becoming the first emperor to unify the Central Plains and conquer the entire Eastern Continent.

This was due to the Great Ancestor's majestic strategy and brilliance, as well as his obtaining help from the Daoist sect, refining Sha-artifacts, and establishing the Imperial Camp Army.

Among the heritages of the Dao of techniques in this world, the strongest and most complete were only two—the Buddhist sect and the Daoist sect.

The only ones with the ability to research and refine Sha-artifacts on a large scale were also the Buddhist and Daoist sects.

Back then, the reason the Great Ancestor chose the Daoist sect and did not choose the Buddhist sect was, first, because the Daoist sect took the initiative to contact him first, and both sides formed a good bond.

Another important reason was that the Buddhist sect was already very strong at that time, while the Daoist sect was relatively weak.

The Great Ancestor Emperor worried that if he cooperated with the Buddhist sect, after he died, the power of religion would suppress the royal power, and in the future, this Great Lan Dynasty might turn into a Buddha nation!

And precisely because the Great Ancestor Emperor chose to cooperate with the Daoist sect at the beginning of the founding of the nation, there was the glory of the Daoist sect for the next five hundred years.

The "general trend" in the Buddha-Eye Heavenly King's mouth referred to the Daoist sect borrowing the momentum of the Great Lan Dynasty.

One Supreme, three Demonic, five True Monarchs, seven Martial Saints.

From this title, one could see the strength of the Daoist sect, actually counting the "Buddha" as a "True Monarch"!

And there were sixteen peak powerhouses in the world, and the Buddhist and Daoist sects combined had seven, occupying nearly half!

So for more than five hundred years, the Great Lan Dynasty seemed to support the Daoist sect, but in reality, it was using the Daoist sect to suppress the Buddhist sect.

Feeling that the Daoist sect was already too strong, after the current Son of Heaven ascended the throne, he began to suppress the Daoist sect, even lifting the limit on the number of Buddhist temples, and began to support the Buddhist sect.

If there were no accidents, the chess game for the next few hundred years should have turned into using the Buddhist sect to suppress the Daoist sect, and the Great Lan Dynasty would continue to maintain balance.

Unexpectedly, Qingxu directly flipped the chessboard...

"The Daluo Sect sealed the mountain, the blood hatred still remains, they will not help, and the imperial court is not at ease using people from the Daluo Sect again."

"The Yuhua Sect has always avoided the world, focusing only on seeking immortality on the mountain. True Monarch Chenjue's lifespan is approaching, and he is currently in seclusion contemplating the 'Yuhua Ascending to Immortality Scripture,' so he will definitely not come to muddy these waters at this time."

"The Daoist sect now only has your Shangqing Sect that can stand out; does Benefactor think that relying only on your sect's strength, you can turn the tide?"

The Buddha-Eye Heavenly King asked with a compassionate face.

At this moment, he was trapped in the great array; even if Xuanxin didn't intend to fight him to the death, he couldn't escape for a while, so he could only try to influence Xuanxin's heart and mind.

Xuanxin's expression was calm.

He knew that what the Buddha-Eye Heavenly King said was not false.

The Daluo Sect's Qi luck was consumed by Qingxu by seven or eight parts, nearly half of its powerhouses died, and the disciples and forces distributed in various provinces were also heavily hit, which could be called a heavy injury to its vitality.

Now it relied on Master Taiyu alone to support the sect, so the other party would definitely not easily make a move again.

Not to mention the deep blood hatred still remained; Master Taiyu absolutely could not make a move to help the imperial court.

As for the Yuhua Sect, Sect Master Chenjue was already nearly two hundred years old, his lifespan was approaching, and now he was in seclusion contemplating the Yuhua Sect's supreme secret method, seeking to merge with the Dao and return to the truth at the last moment of his life, ascending to immortality!

So Chenjue would absolutely not break out of seclusion at this time to participate in this battle.

"The imperial court's vitality is heavily injured, and my Daoist sect is also at a low point, so your Mount Pudu Temple chose to make a move at this time; truly chose a good time!"

Xuanxin said coldly.

Regarding the Buddhist sect's entry into the game, the imperial court had long expected it.

And regarding his Shangqing Sect's participation, Mount Pudu Temple was probably also expecting it!

"In the end, it is just doing human efforts and listening to heaven's will."

Xuanxin stopped talking and focused on controlling the great array.

Outside the great array, without the Buddha-Eye Heavenly King's containment, Wen Wen Ren Zheng finally could completely let go!

In the air, the firmament tore like silk, and the dragon roar shook the sky.

Wen Wen Ren Zheng's pair of iron fists, carrying domineering and peerless gang Qi, pierced directly into the golden dragon's spirit. The dragon head exploded under the power of a thousand jun, and golden scales flew like rain!

The golden dragon without a head still swung its tail, driving the sea of clouds to turn into rivers and lakes, rolling toward Wen Wen Ren Zheng.

Boom—

The sea of clouds condensed into ice, freezing the entire space.

At the same time, the splashed dragon blood quickly condensed into a red nebula, and in an instant, it gathered into a new dragon head!

Just as the dragon head recovered, Wen Wen Ren Zheng had already broken through the ice and arrived on the golden dragon's back.

He blasted a punch downward, the fist aura tearing through the hard dragon scales, revealing the flesh and dragon bones inside.

The flesh was as if possessing spirituality, healing rapidly; Wen Wen Ren Zheng immediately followed up with another punch.

The muffled sound of bones breaking shook the clouds, and golden dragon blood sprayed into a golden rain curtain along the severed blood vessels!

The golden dragon swung its body wildly in the air, the clouds and mist turned into thousands of ice blades, attacking Wen Wen Ren Zheng with the Dao principle power of 【Taiyi Merging Water】.

But no matter how the golden dragon swung, Wen Wen Ren Zheng always firmly stabilized his body.

Cities manifested from his acupuncture points, blocking the incoming ice blades.

Wen Wen Ren Zheng took a step forward, and with one step, he arrived on the re-healed dragon head, his fist edge piercing into the golden dragon's eye socket—the huge eyeball was stirred into a bloody paste by the fist aura!

Golden blood sprayed, forming a golden vortex, wrapping Wen Wen Ren Zheng inside, rapidly wearing away those cities one by one.

The dragon blood stained Wen Wen Ren Zheng's body, corroding most of the Eighth-Level Divine Garment on him; blood mixed with molten iron, broke through his skin, and drilled into his flesh!

Wen Wen Ren Zheng ignored it, just burying his head and continuing to throw punches.

The battle between the two Martial Saints looked extremely bloody and savage, but the momentum was shocking, and the collision of their Dao principle powers had already occurred thousands of times!

Whether Wen Wen Ren Zheng was the "First of the Seven Martial Saints," this was temporarily unknown.

But that he was stronger than Qin Qin Mingli was already an indisputable fact!

Qin Qin Mingli had already been injured many times before, especially heavily injured by 【Heavenly Dryness Divine Micro】 combined with the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi; although he recovered, the consumption was not small.

Now he was beaten by Wen Wen Ren Zheng with an unreasonable fighting style until his dragon body shattered repeatedly, and he was suddenly unable to take it.

Qin Qin Mingli attempted to rush toward the River-Suppressing Heavenly King's side, to change opponents with the other party, or join forces to form a two-on-two situation.

This way, at least the River-Suppressing Heavenly King could help him share some pressure and give him enough time to recover.

But all directions had long been locked by the continuous Sha Qi.

These Sha Qi were like an army besieging a city, coming from more than seven thousand Imperial Camp soldiers.

Wen Wen Ren Zheng had long ago buried "ambush troops," controlling Sha Qi to silently cut off Qin Qin Mingli's retreat!

On this side, Wen Wen Ren Zheng occupied the upper hand; on the other side, Huang Huang Qiyuan led the Heavenly Blue Iron Cavalry, and the situation gradually improved.

After True Monarch Xuanxin made his move, two sword lights suddenly swept out from the void, like two startled geese, cutting through the long sky and slashing at the golden long river wrapped around the azure giant.

Slashing two gaps in the long river!

Natal flying sword, Heaven-Level magic treasure.

The two people who made the move were both top-tier True Persons, and they were top-tier True Persons who had practiced the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend Array!

The Sect Master of the Shangqing Sect had already made a move; how could the rest of the Shangqing Sect's powerhouses not arrive?

Following the appearance of these two flying swords, several more figures appeared from the void.

These people had also hidden themselves on flying magic treasures beforehand.

The strength of the Shangqing Sect was second only to the Daluo Sect; besides one True Monarch, there were two Grandmasters and three top-tier True Persons.

In today's battle, these five peak powerhouses brought a group of Martial Dao Masters and True Persons to the Baifeng Plain!

Seeing five peak powerhouses enter the field, there was no need for the River-Suppressing Heavenly King to speak; the five Grandmasters who were besieging the Heavenly Blue Iron Cavalry took the initiative to meet them.

Compared to participating in the confrontation of peak powerhouses, these people were actually more willing to fight with powerhouses of the same level, at least not having to worry about being deliberately targeted at any time and then being killed in one blow.

Without the assistance of the five Grandmasters, and without the Buddha-Eye Heavenly King's containment, Huang Huang Qiyuan immediately seized the opportunity, exploded with the help of the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi, broke free from the bondage of the martial Dao long river, and launched a counterattack against the River-Suppressing Heavenly King!

"This Bai Chen, where did he run to at the critical moment?"

The River-Suppressing Heavenly King felt a bit annoyed.

Bai Chen was a Standing-Dao-Realm Grandmaster and a sword Dao powerhouse who had mastered multiple creation sword arts. If he were on the scene, cooperating with the others to fight more with less, he could quickly break the balance.

At this time, if either side could have a few more Grandmasters or top-tier True Persons participate in the battle of peak powerhouses, the impact on the battle situation would not be underestimated.

Although the River-Suppressing Heavenly King was strong, the Heavenly Blue Iron Cavalry had the blessing of the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi; relying on him alone, he could at most maintain a balance.

On the plain, a group of peak powerhouses and more than four thousand Imperial Camp soldiers were in a chaotic battle.

Within the 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】, Li Fei slashed a Buddha statue to pieces with one blade again!

But the shattered Buddha statue's golden body would recover in the blink of an eye.

This was Jinglian's core supernatural power—【Pure Land Reincarnation】!

This supernatural power, combined with the derivative changes of the array, could allow the Buddha statue's power to circulate repeatedly within the Pure Land Barrier.

No matter how many Buddha statues Li Fei shattered, or how many times he shattered the Buddha statues, the Pure Land's power would not be consumed in the slightest, and the Buddha statues could also recover rapidly!

Undoubtedly, this kind of method was top-tier "wear-down."

After Li Fei shattered a few Buddha statues, he realized the mystery within and was planning to change methods, when a sword light suddenly entered the two small worlds.

"Hmm?"

Li Fei's heart moved; he seemed to be pulled by some kind of traction and almost subconsciously turned to look.

Dressed in gray clothes, holding a three-foot green blade, looking at least thirty years younger than back then, Bai Chen stood there quietly.

"Bai Chen."

Li Fei narrowed his eyes and gripped the Ghost-Slaying Blade in his hand.

"Amitabha, why did Benefactor Bai Chen come here? Although the Marquis of Jing'an is powerful, this old monk can still handle it."

Jinglian's voice rang out.

In his view, Bai Chen was a very key combat power and should be exerting his role on the battlefield of peak powerhouses.

"Master, leave this person to me; you go over there and help."

Bai Chen's voice was like a sword, piercing into the two heavens and earths, ringing out.

"Benefactor Bai Chen, you..."

Jinglian's tone sank.

His killing power was far inferior to Bai Chen's, and his strength and realm were also inferior to the other party, so Bai Chen was more suitable for breaking the situation than him; naturally, he was unwilling to make such an exchange.

"Master!"

The long sword in Bai Chen's hand suddenly let out a sword hum, and astonishing sword intent filled the heaven and earth:

"Please fulfill this!"

Jinglian felt Bai Chen's determination and killing intent, so he didn't persuade him further, decisively controlling his natal prayer beads to fly away.

Once the Pure Land Barrier was gone, Li Fei's 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】 immediately recovered its peak momentum, enveloping Bai Chen within.

Bai Chen did not activate his martial Dao domain, just stood calmly holding his sword, looking at Li Fei.

Facing those deep eyes, Li Fei felt a kind of fateful attraction.

Zhang Zhang Yuanhong's cold face flashed through his mind.

"So that's how it is."

Li Fei raised the Ghost-Slaying Blade with one hand, pointing at Bai Chen not far away.

The sun and moon shone together above the two people's heads, the altar in the center vibrated slightly, and sword Qi whistled.

Sword intent and killing aura filled the entire heaven and earth.

Swish—

Blade light and sword radiance lit up simultaneously.

"Then—I'll kill you one more time!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 514 =====